Sony Ceases to Sell PlayStation 2 in Japan

Sony Computer Entertainment Japan on Friday ceased to sell its legendary PlayStation 2 game console in the country. Sony’s PS2 was on the market for over twelve years and was sold in tens of millions of units quantity. However, by today’s standards the PS2 is just too outdated to impress and it is time to move on to high-definition gaming provided by the PlayStation 3.

Famitsu web-site reports that the shipments of PlayStation 2 in Japan “have been completed” and starting from today the system is no longer available for sale in Japan. It is highly likely that in the coming months Sony PS2 will be discontinued on such markets as Australia, Europe and the United States, but for some time it will still be available on developing markets, such as Latin America and Southeast Asian countries.

Sony PlayStation 2 was launched on March 4, 2000, and succeeded the highly successful PlayStation console, which was released back in 1994. Sony PS2 helped to drive DVD standard onto the mass market and also opened doors to various popular game franchises, such as Grand Theft Auto.

The PS2 has undergone eighteen major revisions, some only of internal construction and others involving substantial external changes. In general, there were two PlayStation 2 designs: the original one and the slimline one.

Sony has sold over 153 million PlayStation 2 game consoles worldwide to date.